Now, he and his family are destitute, after fleeing an Israeli demolition strike that collapsed the building in a cloud of black smoke and dust. The September 5 attack on the 15-storey Mushtaha Tower marked the start of an intensified Israeli military demolition campaign targeting high-rise buildings ahead of a ground assault towards the heart of the densely populated city, which started this week. Over the past two weeks, Israel's armed forces say they have demolished up to 20 Gaza City tower blocks they say are used by Hamas. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said 50 "terrorist towers" had been demolished. The campaign has made hundreds of people homeless. In a similar time frame, Israeli forces have flattened areas in the city's Zeitoun, Tuffah, Shejaia and Sheikh al-Radwan neighbourhoods, among others, ten residents told Reuters. The damage since August to scores of buildings in Sheikh al-Radwan is visible in satellite imagery reviewed by the news agency. Al-Rayyes said he feared the destruction was aimed at permanently clearing the population from Gaza City, a view shared by the U.N. Human Rights Office (OHCHR). Its spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan said in a statement that such a deliberate effort to relocate the population would be tantamount to ethnic cleansing.

"I never thought I would leave Gaza City, but the explosions are non-stop," Al-Rayyes said on Wednesday. "I can't risk the safety of my children, so I am packing up and will leave for the south." Al-Rayyes vowed, however, never to leave Gaza entirely. Israel's finance minister Bezalel Smotrich said in May that most of Gaza would soon be "totally destroyed" and the population confined to a narrow strip of land near the border with Egypt. Israel, which has called for all of Gaza City's civilian residents to leave during the offensive, last week closed a crossing into northern Gaza, further limiting scarce food supplies. In response to questions for this story, Israel's military spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Nadav Shoshani said "there's no strategy to flatten Gaza." He said the military's aim was to destroy Hamas and bring hostages home. (Reuters)